Bottle stopper



K- RIESS BOTTLE STOPPER Oct. 13, 1964 Filed Sept. 20, 1963 INVENTOR. K494 2/555 United States Patent 3,152,712 BOTTLE STOPPER Karl Riess, 5427 Carlton Way, Los Angeles 27, Calif. Filed Sept. 20, 1963, Ser. No. 310,194

6 Claims. (Cl. 21575) The invention relates to a bottle stopper and more particularly to a stopper having a valve which will automatically move from open to closed position as the bottle is moved from tilted to upright position.

Objects of the invention are, provide an improved bottle stopper which can be removably fitted on the bottle by interlocking with the bead on the outside of the neck of the bottle, provide an improved ball valve, provide an improved valve casing having wall parts interfitted by force fitting interlocking parts, provide an improved stopper wherein delaying means are provided to delay seating of the valve to allow any liquid remaining in the casing when tilted in pouring position to drain back into the bottle before the valve reaches its seat when moving the bottle to upright position, and to provide a bottle stopper having a valve which will seat either when the bottle is upright or when it is inverted.

For further details of the invention, reference may be made to the drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the bottle stopper, of the invention, shown in position on top of any standard bottle which is used with the conventional sealing cap such as the type used on soda bottles.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the bottle stopper taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the bottle stopper shown in position on a bottle taken on the line 3-4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the bottle stopper shown in a tilted position to allow pouring of the liquid in the bottle without removing the bottle stopper.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the bottle and the bottle stopper in a completely inverted position in which no liquid can escape from the bottle.

Referring in detail to the drawings, a bottle 1 is shown with the bottle stopper 2 in position on top of the bottle. The bottle stopper 2 of the invention is comprised of four parts, namely, a top half 3, a bottom half 4 forming a valve casing 28, a plastic detaining washer 5, and a plastic coated lead ball 6.

.To assemble the bottle stopper, the top half 3 is held in an inverted position, the ball 6 is placed into a cavity 7 in the top half, the detaining washer 5 is then placed into an annular groove 8, the bottom half 4 is then forced onto the top half 3. The top half is provided with a groove 9 and a lip 10. The bottom half has a mating lip 11 and a mating groove 12. The lip 11 of the bottom half 4 fits into the groove 9 of the top half 3 and the groove 12 of the bottom half 4 receives the lip of the top half 3. The two halves of the bottle stopper are formed or molded from a resilient plastic material, which may be transparent or opaque in different colors and will yield when force is applied to press the two halves together. After the lip is within its mating groove, the resilient plastic material will retain its original shape, thereby holding the two halves together in a fixed liquid sealing relationship, as shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5.

The casing 28 at its lower end has an opening 27 to fit on the top of the bottle. To place the bottle stopper 2 on a bottle 1, a groove 13 and a lip 14 are provided on the lower portion of the bottle stopper to receive a lip 15 on the bottle 1. When the bottle stopper is pressed onto the bottle, the lip 15 of the bottle will seat into the groove 13 of the stopper and form a fluid seal. The lip 14 of the stopper will then fit over the lip 15 of the bottle and 3,152,712 Patented Oct. 13, 1964 will hold the stopper on the bottle. A seal between the bottle and the stopper will also be formed as the resilient or flexible material of the stopper makes a tight fit with the bottle.

A hole or port 16 of smaller diameter than opening 27 and smaller than the diameter of the ball 6 is at the lower end of the bottle stopper 2. At the upper end of the hole 16 is provided a spherical seating surface 17 which will receive the ball valve 6 and form a seal when the bottle is in an upright position, as shown in FIGURE 3. At the upper end of the bottle stopper is another hole or port 18 of the same diameter as the hole 16. The hole 18 has at its inner end a spherical seating surface 19 which will receive the ball 6 and form a seal when the bottle is in a completely inverted position, shown in FIGURE 5. Between the holes 16 and 18, the casing 28 has an enlarged cavity or valve chamber 7 in the top half 3 and an enlarged cavity or valve chamber 20 in the bottom half 4. When the bottle is in a pouring position as shown in FIG- URE 4, the ball 6 will lie against the inner wall 21 of the enlarged cavities 7 and 20 and between the fingers 24 of the detaining washer 5 allowing the liquid 26, shown in phantom lines, to go around the ball 6 and out of the opening 18.

The ball 6 has an inner core 22 which is a very heavy material such as lead. The ball has an outer shell or coating 23 of a suitable sanitary plastic material. A detaining washer 5 is approximately midway in the stopper between cavities 7 and 20. The detaining washer 5 is a one piece construction and made from flexible plastic, having one or more fingers 24, three being shown, with an outer connecting ring or collar 25. The ring 25 is contained or clamped in the groove 8 by the casing parts 3, 4 and does not extend beyond the inner wall 21. The fingers 24 of the detaining washer act as a weak spring or obstruction and perform a delaying action against the ball 6 to support the ball 6 momentarily when the bottle is placed upright just after pouring. This momentary delay in the seating of the ball will allow any liquid which became trapped in the stopper to drain back through hole 16 into the bottle before the bottle is sealed, when the ball valve reaches its lower seat.

In other words, the two sections 3 and 4 of casing 28 are force fitted together and casing 28 is force fitted on the top of the bottle. The flexible nature of the plastic material for casing 28 making such force fits possible. The bottle stopper is removable. The weight of the ball holds it seated against the action of carbonated liquids or jostling. Liquids in other types of containers may be poured into a bottle of the type shown, to use the bottle stopper of this invention.

Various modifications may be made. For example, I have used a glass ball with the construction similar to that shown, but prefer the heavy ball as described.

I claim:

1. A bottle stopper comprising a hollow casing having a spherical seat, a ball valve in said casing fitting said seat and movable to a position off said seat assaid casing is tilted from one position to another, and movable means opposite said seat and actuated by said ball valve for delaying its return to seating position when said stopper is moved from tilted to upright position.

2. A bottle stopper according to claim 1, said casing having interfitting wall parts, said means being in the form of a flexible plastic strip extending from a ring seal portion clamped between said casing parts.

3. A bottle stopper according to claim 1, said casing having interfitting wall parts, said means being in the form of a plurality of flexible plastic strips extending from a collar clamped between said casing parts.

4. A bottle stopper comprising a casing having a seat at opposite ends, and a ball valve in said casing for said seats,

said valve being movable to three different positions,

namely, to one seat when the bottle stopper is upright, to

being in two parts each having one of said seats, each 10 seat being spherical.

4 6. A bottle stopper according to claim 4, said casing being' in tWo' parts, each part having one' of said seats, said flexible means being heldin position by an extension thereof clamped between said casing parts.

References Cited in= the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 718,801 Strauss Jan; 20, 1903 869,154 Ayling Oct. 22, 1907 1,046,015

Rausch Dec. 3, 1912 

1. A BOTTLE STOPPER COMPRISING A HOLLOW CASING HAVING A SPHERICAL SEAT, A BALL VALVE IN SAID CASING FITTING SAID SEAT AND MOVABLE TO A POSITION OFF SAID SEAT AS SAID CASING IS TILTED FROM ONE POSITION TO ANOTHER, AND MOVABLE MEANS OPPOSITE SAID SEAT AND ACTUATED BY SAID BALL VALVE FOR 